# What is Cloudflare DNS and do I need it? Source: https://dijituldns.co.uk/guides/cloudflare-dns-explained/ Updated: 2026-10-08 > Cloudflare DNS is a fast, free DNS service that tells the internet where your website and email live, with optional security and caching on top. Most small sites benefit from it. dijitul hosting sets up and manages Cloudflare DNS for you as part of Complete Hosting at £1 a day + VAT. ## Key facts - DNS translates a domain name such as example.co.uk into the IP address of a server. - Cloudflare offers authoritative DNS on a free plan, used by millions of websites. - To use Cloudflare DNS, you change your domain's nameservers to the two Cloudflare provides. - The orange cloud (proxied) setting routes web traffic through Cloudflare for caching and protection. - Email records (MX) are never proxied; they always point straight to the mail server. - Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 is a separate public resolver for internet users, not the same as hosting your DNS. - dijitul includes Cloudflare DNS set-up and management in Complete Hosting. ## What Cloudflare DNS is DNS is the internet's address book. When someone types your domain, DNS tells their browser which server to visit and tells other mail servers where to deliver your email. Our guide on [what DNS is in plain English](https://dijituldns.co.uk/guides/what-is-dns/) explains the basics. Cloudflare is a company that runs a large global network. One of its services is **authoritative DNS**: it stores your domain's records (A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, TXT and others) and answers lookups for them. It is free for most uses and answers quickly from many locations. ## The orange cloud and the grey cloud Each web record in Cloudflare has a cloud icon: - **Grey cloud (DNS only):** Cloudflare just answers the DNS lookup. Visitors connect straight to your server. - **Orange cloud (proxied):** visitors connect to Cloudflare, which then fetches the page from your server. This hides your server's IP address, caches images and files, and filters out a lot of bad traffic. For a typical small business website, the sensible setup is the main website address and the www address proxied, and everything else left as DNS only. If something odd happens after a change, switching a record back to grey is a quick way to rule Cloudflare out while you investigate. Proxying only applies to web traffic. MX records for email, and records for things like FTP or SSH, should stay grey. ## Benefits for a small business - **Speed:** DNS lookups are answered quickly, and cached files load from a nearby location. - **Protection:** proxied sites get protection against many floods of junk traffic and common attacks. - **Free SSL at the edge:** Cloudflare can serve HTTPS, alongside the certificate on your server. - **Easy changes:** DNS changes usually take effect in seconds within Cloudflare. - **Independence:** your DNS is separate from your registrar and your host, so moving host later is simpler. - **Audit trail:** the dashboard shows every record in one place, which makes it easy to check what is set and spot old entries that are no longer needed. ## Things to watch out for - **Copy every record first.** When you switch nameservers, any record you forget, such as an MX or TXT record, stops working. - **SSL mode matters.** Use "Full (strict)" with a valid certificate on your server. "Flexible" can cause redirect loops. - **Caching can confuse.** After a change, you may need to purge the cache. - **Some tools see Cloudflare, not you.** Visitor IP addresses need passing through correctly for logs and security plugins. - **Someone needs the login.** Keep the Cloudflare account in your business name, or with a host you trust. ## How to move your DNS to Cloudflare - Create a Cloudflare account and add your domain. - Check the records Cloudflare imports against your current DNS, and add anything missing. - Decide which web records to proxy (orange) and keep mail records grey. - At your registrar, change the nameservers to the two Cloudflare gives you. - Wait for Cloudflare to confirm the domain is active, usually within a few hours. - Set SSL to Full (strict) and test the website and email. - Send a test email in and out, and check that SPF and DMARC still pass. ## Do you need it, and how dijitul helps You do not strictly need Cloudflare, but for most small business websites it is a sensible, free upgrade over basic registrar DNS. The catch is that it must be set up carefully and looked after. dijitul sets up and manages [Cloudflare DNS](https://dijituldns.co.uk/cloudflare-dns-management/) for every [Complete Hosting](https://dijituldns.co.uk/complete-hosting/) customer at **£1 a day + VAT**, including email records, SPF, DKIM and DMARC. See our [Cloudflare vs registrar DNS](https://dijituldns.co.uk/compare/cloudflare-vs-registrar-dns/) comparison, or [order online](https://clients.dijitul.uk/order). ## FAQs ### Is Cloudflare DNS free? Yes, for most small business websites. Cloudflare's free plan includes authoritative DNS, the proxy with caching, basic protection against attacks and edge SSL. Paid plans add features such as image optimisation, more firewall rules and support, but many small sites never need them. ### Will Cloudflare break my email? Not if it is set up correctly. Your MX records must be copied across exactly and left as DNS only, the grey cloud. The same goes for SPF, DKIM and DMARC TXT records. Email problems after moving to Cloudflare almost always come from a missing or mistyped record. ### What is the difference between Cloudflare DNS and 1.1.1.1? Cloudflare DNS for your domain is authoritative DNS: it stores and publishes your website's records. 1.1.1.1 is a public resolver that internet users can set on their own devices to look up any website. They are different services, and you do not need one to use the other. ### Does Cloudflare make my website faster? Usually, yes. DNS lookups are quick, and with the orange cloud turned on, images, CSS and JavaScript are cached across Cloudflare's network, so they load from nearer the visitor. Slow page generation on the server itself, such as a heavy database query, still needs fixing at the hosting end. ### Who will set up Cloudflare DNS for me? dijitul sets up and manages Cloudflare DNS as part of Complete Hosting at £1 a day + VAT. The team copies your existing records, configures email authentication, chooses the right proxy and SSL settings, and makes future DNS changes for you, so nothing gets missed. ## Pricing and ordering dijitul Complete Hosting is £1 a day + VAT (£365 a year + VAT). Order at https://clients.dijitul.uk/order?product=complete-hosting&ref=dijituldns&src=cloudflare-dns-explained or call 01623 650333.